The Role: Willy Wonka Cast Instead: Johnny Depp In 1999, back before Tim Burton was given the reigns to try and ruin Roald Dahl's most famous of children's books (and the original adaptation whose classic status was reaffirmed by Burton's wayward monstrosity,) Scott Frank penned a screenplay that was closer to the original source (which was a lot less politically correct than the 1971 adaptation) and Gary Ross came on board to direct. At that time, Cage was under discussion for the key role of Willy Wonka, but "lost interest," which was undoubtedly for the best. Why He Would Have Ruined It... Oh, come on! Depp's performance as Wonka was actually not terrible - he brought a disarming, child-like naivety to the performance that was at once charming and also utterly grotesque, like the madcap ghost of a kid's TV presenter on acid - but he was never going to overthrow Gene Wilder's iconic performance as the chocolatier in a million years. That performance was so inherently appealing that it now supercedes the author's own portrayal of Wonka (much darker,) and it's implausible to imagine Cage attempting to channel the impish mischief that underbeds Wilder's performance. There's also a very real suggestion that Cage would have brought a lot more physical presence to the role, perhaps reinforcing a little too much the factory owner's darker side - his slave owning, and his mistreatment of children (it's a horror film, remember.) In that context, the idea of Cage attempting to bring his own touch to the character is almost criminally disturbing. At no stage in his career has he shown aptitude for playing that sort of character, juxtaposing childishness and borderline insanity with enough authority to carry the narrative. The closest he has come is probably with Big Daddy, and though everyone revels in the sight of Cage going a bit mad on screen, this is a different kettle of fish entirely, and reducing Wonka into an unhinged caricature would be to do the character a major disservice.
